


Habits

by gokkyun



Series: Slow [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 11:26:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10853019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gokkyun/pseuds/gokkyun
Summary: Akira captures what is candid.





	Habits

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah after getting Platinum for P5 I have kinda found a ... really big liking for this ship. 
> 
> I haven't written anything proper in 2 months so I'm not TOO happy with this but I plan to write multiple parts based off of this.  
> Anyway, spoilers for Yusuke's confidant and some minor things until 7/26 (4th palace). Enjoy and thanks for feedback and stuff.  
> Also, this is incredibly sappy.

Perception and therefore having an eye for people's habits and behaviors has always been one of Kurusu Akira's strengths. 

The way he notices these little and at times bigger things is unconscious. Be it the way Ann twirls the hair of one of her pigtails around her fingers when she's bored or the way Ryuji kicks the back of his heel with his other foot whenever he's annoyed. Once used to these habits, Akira pays them no further mind. It was like that back in his home town and it's like that in the overwhelming city of Tokyo. 

One person in particular throws that statistic off track though, something unfamiliar and quite confusing to Akira. 

It started out when he met said person, under admittedly odd circumstances. Accused of being a stalker by Ann, the unfamiliar boy looked at the back then small group of three with his gray eyes wide in question. 

A few weeks later, the name Kitagawa Yusuke was familiar to Akira and to the other members of the Phantom Thieves. But for Akira it didn't stop there. Rather the opposite. After Madarame's confession, Yusuke opened up to him, told him about his past, about his self-doubts and most importantly about his artistic dilemma. It's then that Akira started to notice more and more of Yusuke's habits and for once in his life couldn't and to this day can't stop noticing them - or thinking about them. 

It's the way Yusuke's hair falls into his face at times, the soft blue strands hiding his eye. Akira wants to step closer whenever he catches sight of this, wants to use his hand to brush the loose strands back in place. Yusuke's slender fingers do so instead, just like they always do. But they are a major point of Akira's interest as well as he can't help but to view every movement of theirs as gracious, whether it is a motion as simple as putting Yusuke's hair back in place or one as difficult yet tender as moving a brush. Touching Yusuke, even in a way that is as innocent as holding his nimble hands, has gotten stuck in Akira's mind because it rarely happens. No fleeting brush of fingers, no accidental bump as they make their way through the crowded streets of Tokyo, no nothing. 

And to Akira's growing frustration, his perceptive nature does and did, in fact, not stop there. When he first saw Yusuke draw without Madarame's pressure in the back of his head, it was compelling to say the least. Even with the shaky movement of the small boat they were in, Yusuke looked like concentration incarnated, his hand steady as those long and slender fingers lead his pencil. Caught up in nothing but the slowly filling piece of paper in his hands that acted as his canvas, Yusuke didn't even register Akira's mumbling about the fact that a boat ride on a romantic lake wasn't exactly a normal activity for two friends to undergo. 

But soon enough Akira was too caught up in something as well to really care. For him it wasn't art though but Yusuke attitude towards it. His dedication. His passion. Everything Yusuke put his mind into seemed to have only two outcomes for him, two extremes: do or die. Akira should have noticed it back when Yusuke first awoke his Persona. Everyone's awakenings were violent so far, shaking them to their core, but Yusuke's especially so, his nails bloody as they scrapped across the floor in despair and his eyes hungry for retribution. 

Yusuke's voice brought Akira back from spacing out and back into the softly swaying boat on a warm July Saturday. The other boy looked up from his alleged canvas with a spark in his eyes and Akira's heart skipped a beat in return. The fact that the couple that were actually siblings muttered about the two being a couple should've been something to bother Akira, like it did when Sojiro assumed the same of Ann and him. But it didn't. 

 

Akira would like to be back on that sunny day instead of being stuck in the present day. The persistent torrential rain is drumming against LeBlanc's window panes and the glass of the front door, the weather rather questionable considering it's the first day of summer vacation. The shop is empty save for Yusuke, Akira and Morgana, Sojiro having closed early due to the horrendous weather and lack of customers. A comforting mixture of sounds fill the small space, ranging from the soft movements of Yusuke's pencil as it moves over the tiny sketch block he always seems to be carrying around to the harsher sounds of Akira cleaning the plates they used for their curry - made just how Sojiro taught him. Nothing seems to disturb Morgana's sleep though, peacefully resting upstairs. 

It doesn't take Akira much longer to finish his work, glad to finally return his focus onto Yusuke who, in turn, is completely fixated on his art while sitting by the counter. They've spent the entire day together and yet Akira can't get enough of gazing upon the other. Concentration is written all over Yusuke's face, Akira can tell by the way his eyebrows are pressed together while his teeth are subtly chewing on his lower lip, leaving ever so slight marks. The smell of the prior curry and the by now cold cup of coffee next to Yusuke linger in the air as Akira leans over the counter, elbows resting on it while his head rests on his hands in return. He doesn't understand much when it comes to the magic that is art, most of it taught by Yusuke anyways, yet Akira can very much appreciate the fine lines the other has brought onto paper in mere ten minutes. 

Just when Akira gazes up and into Yusuke's face after a while, a couple of blue hair strands fall astray - as they do so often. But Yusuke doesn't notice, still guiding the pencil with a steady hand and unwavering attention. And something akin to a tickle establishes in Akira's hand, a bothersome feeling that makes him reach out, gingerly so, tucking the loose strands back in place.

And of course Akira expects Yusuke to react, just not with such intensity. He jumps up and knocks his cup of coffee over with an almost strangled sound, staring at Akira from the other side of the counter with wide eyes. Akira is frozen in place, although a smile is forcing its way onto the corners of his lips that can't be described with any other word than goofy. "I-I'm sorry," he says but it sounds more like a question. 

Yusuke blinks a few times, quite obviously trying to regain his composure and maybe some of his lost dignity. He clears his throat. "Would you mind handing me a cloth. I have caused quite a ... mess." 

"Well, technically I did so let me handle it," Akira suggests, quick to fetch the rag Sojiro uses to clean the desks from the small kitchen. "Did anything get onto you? Or onto your block?"

"N-No."

The apparent _mess_ is cleaned up soon enough but the silence that has settled is anything but pleasant. Yusuke is seated back on his prior spot, unmoving and with his eyes pinned to the ground. After considering if he should take the risk of Yusuke freaking out yet again, Akira decides to take it, sitting down next to the other. His chair screeches a little on the ground as he shifts it towards Yusuke. "Again. I'm sorry. I ... I really didn't mean to - well, do this to you. Whatever it was. Did - did it stir up a memory? Of Madarame or something? Did he touch you?" 

"W-What?" Yusuke suddenly blurts out, something that rarely happens. He turns his sitting form towards Akira as well. "No, no. Sens- Madarame has done a lot of despicable things to me but taking advantage of me physically was not one of them. At least not in a way that would leave me mentally scarred. The mere thought of it is quite disturbing."

"That's good then. Like, I don't mean to pry but what was that reaction all about then?" 

Yusuke's upper teeth softly dig into his lower lip before his gaze turns towards the ground again. That heartbreaking expression whenever he's troubled paints across his face, eyebrows knitted together. Something is different though, as a soft flush graces his features. "Truth be told I have never experienced a lot of contact with others until recently. All Madarame managed to show me concerning genuine affection was a pat on the back should one of my pieces have had success during an exhibition. My peers avoid me like so many others and even if they did not, Madarame prohibited me to have visitors. Or rather, friends. _Concentrate on your studies and not one some fools that cannot distinguish a Van Gogh from a Da Vinci_ , he would say." A small chuckle escapes Yusuke, although the gaze his gray eyes hold is somewhat sad as it meets Akira's. "I see most physical contact coming, but I was so taken up in my drawing that I did not realize this one until it was too late. I suppose this is why your touch took me by surprise like that. It is rather embarrassing and I am truly sorry for causing such havoc. Even more so as I ... enjoy your company. Your touches." 

"Oh," Akira answers, his brain a little slow to catch up on Yusuke's words. " _Oh_."

"My apologies, I did not mean to overstep my boundaries with that statement. Never mind it." Averting his gaze yet again, one of Yusuke's fingers starts playing with a strand of his hair - a reaction Akira for once can't sort into Yusuke's usual behavior patterns. Until he notices that the flush on Yusuke's features has not only stayed but spread to the tips of his ears. 

"You didn't overstep anything." And then Akira's heartbeat picks up in before it skips a beat altogether as his hands enclose around Yusuke's. They're cold as ice but indescribably soft, the other's long and slender fingers immediately closing around his in response. 

A heavy intake of air from Yusuke's side follows. "I am not sure I understand the course of action you have taken." 

"You don't know why you hold someone else's hand?"

Yusuke knits his eyebrows yet again, although his expressions seems more offended this time around as his mouth is also forming a flat line. "I know of romance. At least in concept. And how could I not? It is, after all, the topic of countless art pieces. But my point is that, as you once put it, I am a _weirdo_. So why would an admirable person such as yourself ... want to engage in ... in romantic interactions with me?" 

Akira chuckles at that. "I called you a weirdo because in a way you are. But that's nothing bad, rather the opposite. I like the way you think, the way you put your whole being into what you want to achieve. I aspire to have that level of dedication. And to be totally honest, you are the only person I can't stop perceiving as something so special that it's almost scary."

The grip Yusuke had established around Akira's hand tightens while his gray eyes are wide with something akin to confusion. It doesn't take long before he snaps out of the small trance that struck him, one his hands swift to cover the lower half of his face as he turns his head to his side. "I ... I did not notice he feels as strongly for me as I for him," Yusuke mutters, loud enough for Akira to hear but he lets it slide. With both of his hands grasping Akira's once more, Yusuke turns back to face him. His eyes are glazing over with newly found determination. "To be perfectly frank, I am unsure of how to put this but ... you're the closest I have ever been to someone. I never had someone to simply talk to, no one that would endure my admittedly eccentric nature with the patience you do. And - after I finished _Desire and Hope_ I noticed that you were my driving force, just like the _Sayuri_ was before Madarame's corruption." 

Yusuke's energetic voice quiets down a little, his gaze shifting from Akira's face to the pair of hands currently holding onto his. His lips curve into a smile, although of somewhat sad nature. "After you helped me create it in your own wonderful way I still felt empty though. I soon noticed that this was only the matter whenever I was not around you. I am, however, no fool. I knew what that meant, though I would have never dared to believe for you to return those ... feelings." 

"I do though, believe me. I kind of wish I was exaggerating when I say that no one's been on my mind quite as often as you were since we've met but I'm really not," Akira says, his words simple but all the more meaningful to Yusuke. That becomes obvious enough when that warm smile Yusuke usually only shows when he talks about art paints over his features. His eyes close and his soft lips pull upwards, a hint of pink color still gracing his otherwise pale skin. "It feels really awkward saying this but I suppose ... that makes us a couple." 

"It is not _awkward_ at all. Quite the contrary as I find this development to be quite delightful. However, I have two propositions." Akira cocks his head, the cue for Yusuke to carry on. "To put it bluntly, I would prefer not to tell the others about this for several reason."

"Yeah, they wouldn't mind obviously but the shit with Medjed has everyone on edge already. Futaba's palace is a mess, too. No need for the others to worry their pretty little heads about us as well. And honestly, I don't wanna be the target of any lame couple-related jokes," Akira grunts, rolling his eyes behind his glasses for a second there. 

A lithe chuckle is Yusuke's response before he continues. "My second request would be that we take this slow. I hope you agree as my only intention is to savor this. I have no intention whatsoever to seem like a - what did my peers call it when they discussed this topic," he takes a second to think, "Ah, right! A cockblock!"

Akira can't help but to burst out laughing hearing a word such as that leave Yusuke's mouth. The boy opposite of him gives Akira a questioning look in return, not quite understanding what's so funny. Sooner rather than later Akira catches himself before giving Yusuke a couple of small and reassuring nods. "That's alright, don't worry. After all this whole relationship thing will be harder for you than me, considering how secluded you lived and how, well, different you are when it comes to interactions." 

"I will take that as a compliment, even though I am unsure if I should," Yusuke states with a small and oh so uncharacteristic pout and Akira decides that it's the cutest thing he's ever seen the other do. "But alas the hour is late and we plan to infiltrate the palace tomorrow, so I think I should be on my way."

With a long-drawn sign, Akira gets up from his seat, reluctant in letting Yusuke's hands go. "Let me grab our jackets from upstairs then before this rain picks up again." 

"Akira?" 

"Yes?" 

Yusuke hesitates at first, gray eyes averted while his some of his slender fingers brush through his hair nervously. It makes Akira smile slightly, clearly remembering that this is the exact way of how Yusuke displayed his embarrassment earlier. "Would you mind leaving Morgana here? The streets will be empty considering the rain and I would like to ... hold hands as we head towards the station." 

"Sure thing."

"Thank you. For everything."


End file.
